Western eyes success of Iowa’s one-class program

Editor’s note: This is the continuation of a series that explores the challenges facing the University of Montana-Western and how the college will face those challenges.
http://www.mtstandard.com/newsdillon

DILLON — Not that many years ago, Julia Clark would have been high on the list of Montana students likely to consider attending the University of Montana-Western, Dillon.

By Perry Backus of the Montana Standard

Instead last fall, the Twin Bridges High graduate and volleyball standout packed her bags and moved to Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa.

Drawn largely by a generous financial package and the small college atmosphere, Clark initially didn’t think too much on the fact the school is one of three in the United States that offers "one-class-at-a-time" scheduling.

Now, a year later, Clark wouldn’t go back to the traditional way of taking courses.

"I like it a lot," she said. "It’s a lot better than high school when you had to jump between classes of English, math and chemistry."

Although Clark didn’t know that much about one-class-at-a-time scheduling before moving to Iowa, she’s discovered that many of her classmates sought the school because of its unique class format.

"Most of the students here do come because of the one-course-at-a-time scheduling," Clark said. "Some of them considered Colorado College before Cornell, but they may have been able to get a better financial package here."

Clark said she likes the flexibility the scheduling format provides. For instance, she competed on the volleyball team. Coaches knew when classes were done for the day and were able to hold practice afterwards. Tournaments were sometimes scheduled during the four- to five-day breaks between class blocks. And when she had to miss a class, professors were willing to help her make up the material.

"I think that worked out very well," she said.

Another advantage to the one-class-at-a-time system is that Cornell offers nine blocks during the year. Students only need to take eight to be able to graduate on time. So they can either take a month off sometime during the year or take the extra block and be able to either graduate early or with a double major.

"About 60 percent of the students here graduate with a double major," she said. "I also like that four-and-a-half- to five-day break between blocks. You get pretty worn out and it gives you some time to recuperate."

Clark took difficult classes her freshmen year, including physics and Japanese. She appreciated the chance to focus on each course individually.

"I think it’s made a big difference for me," she said.

Cornell College is a private school with 1,000 students from 38 different states, although most come from Iowa and the surrounding states. It’s been offering one-class-at-a-time since 1978.

Reporter Perry Backus may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].

http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2003/05/18/newsdillon/hjjgjeifjcgchd.txt